DeMass, Grothusen, Beaton overall March CLASP winners

The Internet – March 27, 2021 – Trevor DeMass of Salt Lake City, Utah (video); Hamburg, Germany’s Hans Grothusen (video); and Alasdair Beaton (video) were the aggregate winners in the Grade 1, Grade 2, and Grade 3, sections of the CLASP (Competition League for Amateur Pipers) March 2021 solo competitions, an event that attracted more than 60 entries from all over the world.

Performances were recorded and uploaded to YouTube for judges’ assessment. Due to a large entry, the Grade 3 March and Strathspey & Reel were divided into two heats.

Ross Ainsley, Steven Blake, Andrew Bova, Bruce Gandy, Jenny Hazzard, Finlay MacDonald, Colin MacLellan and Bradley Parker judged the various events.

CLASP is a member-based organization for amateur pipers older than 18. Started by the National Piping Centre in 2006 to provide solo competitions in the UK for adult pipers, the pandemic has seen CLASP expand worldwide in online formats. Competitors accrue points over a year based on placing and weighted by the number of entries, with emphasis placed on piobaireachd and MSR categories. Mainly because the UK’s traditional solo piping system categorizes any piper 18 and younger as a “Junior,” CLASP is limited to adult players.

Grade 1
Piobaireachd
1st Charles-David Mitchell, Ottawa (video)
2nd Trevor DeMass
3rd Stuart Letford, Kirkintilloch, Scotland
4th Bálint Kiss, Hungary
5th Scott Long, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
6th Evan Wraga, Kaiserslautern, Germany
Judge: Colin McLellan

MSR
1st Benjamin Elliot, Mount Pleasant, Michigan (video)
2nd Steven MacQueen
3rd Robert Russell, Edinburgh
4th Trevor DeMass
5th Charles-David Mitchell
6th Robert Wilson

Jig
1st David MacKenzie (video)
2nd Steven MacQueen
3rd Martha Hall, California
4th Benjamin Elliot
5th Robert Russell
6th Trevor DeMass

Grade 2
Piobaireachd
1st John Nevans (video)
2nd Gordon Ross, Stirling, Scotland
3rd Gregory Joseph
4th Eddie Boland
5th Doug Hamilton
6th Ben Hall
Judge: Bruce Gandy

2/4 March
1st Stuart Brown (video)
2nd Hans Grothusen
3rd Balint Kiss
4th David Richardson
5th Christopher Yeo
6th Maggie Jeschofnig

Strathspey & Reel
1st Stuart Brown
2nd Hans Grothusen
3rd Balint Kiss
4th David Richardson
5th Christopher Yeo
6th Gordon Ross

Jig
1st John Nevans (video)
2nd Hans Grothusen
3rd Alexander MacKay
4th Gregory Joseph
5th Kurtis Bryden
6th Christopher Yeo

Grade 3
Piobaireachd
1st Colin MacKenzie (video)
2nd Alasdair Beaton,
3rd Robert Cunningham
4th Philip Duthie
5th Anthony Kelly
6th Tom DuBois
Judge: Bradley Parker

2/4 March Final
1st Anthony Kelly (video)
2nd Colin MacKenzie
3rd Alasdair Beaton
4th Philip Duthie
5th Kim Greeley
6th Ross Martin

Strathspey & Reel Final
1st Ross Martin (video)
2nd Philip Duthie
3rd Alasdair Beaton
4th Anthony Kelly
5th Tom DuBois
6th Alan Wardrop

2/4 March
Heat 1
1st Anthony Kelly
2nd Colin MacKenzie
3rd Ross Martin
4th Iain McGeachie
5th Bernard Cohnen
6th Matteo Melison

Heat 2
1st Alasdair Beaton
2nd Philip Duthie
3rd Kim Greeley
4th Andrew Robertson
5th Joe Hardie
6th Katherine Annand

Strathspey & Reel
Heat 1
1st Ross Martin
2nd Anthony Kelly
3rd Iain McGeachie
4th Colin MacKenzie
5th Alistair MacKay
6th Matteo Melison

Heat 2
1st Philip Duthie
2nd Alastair Beaton
3rd Tom DuBois
4th Alan Wardrop
5th Kim Greeley
6th James Acheson

Jig
1st Colin MacKenzie (video)
2nd Zachary Dwyer
3rd David Todd
4th Alasdair Beaton
5th Anthony Kelly
6th Alistair MacKay
(Honourable mention to Danielle Warren.)